Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2009-10: Connor Carrick skated for the Chicago Fury midget program in Illinois. In 22 games with the Fury midget major team he scored 2 goals with 4 assists and had 2 penalty minutes. He played 37 games with the Fury’s midget minor team; scoring 7 goals with 15 assists and 48 penalty minutes. Carrick attended the United States National Team Development Program camp in the spring and committed to playing college hockey at the University of Michigan in 2012-13. Carrick was selected by Guelph in the 11th round (212th overall) of the 2012 OHL Priority Draft.

2010-11: Carrick moved to Ann Arbor to skate for the US NTDP’s U17 squad. In 55 games he scored 4 goals with 16 assists and had 50 penalty minutes. He represented the United States in three tournaments – the 2010 U17 Four Nations Cup, the 2011 World U17 Hockey Challenge in Canada, and the 2011 U18 Vlad Dzurilla Tournament in Slovakia. He had one assist as the USA finished first in the Four Nations Cup, had 2 goals and 5 assists in six games for the second-place USA squad at the WHC and had 1 assist in three games as the US U17 team won the U18 Vlad Dzurilla tournament.

2011-12: Carrick skated in 57 games for the US NTDP’s Under-18 team in his second season in Ann Arbor. He scored 8 goals with 13 assists and had 46 penalty minutes. In six games for the gold medal-winning USA at the U18 WJC he scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was plus-four. Plymouth obtained the OHL rights to Carrick in a June 2012 trade with Guelph and he committed to playing with the Whalers rather than playing college hockey . Ranked 124th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting’s final rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft, he was selected by Washington in the fifth round (137th overall).

2012-13: Carrick attended training camp with Washington and signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals in September 2013 before joining the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers for his first season of major junior hockey. He as an assistant captain and one of three players to skate in all 68 regular season games for Plymouth. He scored 12 goals with 32 assists and was +27 with 79 penalty minutes. The Whalers finished first in the West Division and reached the Western Conference finals against eventual OHL champion London. Carrick scored 2 goals with 16 assists and was +18 with 6 penalty minutes in 15 playoff games. He was invited to USA Hockey’s junior evaluation camp in August 2014.

2013-14: Carrick made the Capitals out of training camp — making his NHL debut in a game at Chicago on October 1st and skating in three games before being assigned to AHL affiliate Hershey. He played for the USA U20 team in the 2014 World Juniors and rejoined the Capitals in January. Carrick scored 1 goal with 5 assists and was -9 with 23 penalty minutes in 34 regular season games with Washington. He played 13 AHL games for Hershey and was -3 with 4 assists and 15 penalty minutes. Carrick had 3 assists and was +7 with 4 penalty minutes for the USA at the WJC. The USA finished fifth after a 5-3 loss to Russia in the quarterfinals.

Talent Analysis

Carrick is an attacking defender who made a name for himself with his offensive ability. He is a great skater and confident puck carrier and loves to utilize both to jump into the offensive attack and create opportunities. He’s a solid puckmover and has a great shot as well. He is slightly undersized for a defenseman and at times is vulnerable in his own end but he doesn’t back down from a physical challenge. He is competent in his own zone but it is on the offensive end where he is most valuable — particularly as a power play quarterback and as an aggressive and explosive offensive defenseman at even strength.

Future

Carrick attended training camp with the Capitals before being assigned to AHL affiliate Hershey at the start of the 2014-15 season. After gaining experience at the NHL level in his first pro season last year, Carrick is playing in all situations for the Bears. The opportunity to long full-time minutes, leading Bears' defensemen in points while playing abrasive defense, should benefit his development in the long-term; particularly for a Hershey team that is one of the AHL's top two teams. Carrick projects as a skating, offensively-inclined Mike Green-type defenseman at the NHL level and the physical edge he has shown with the Bears is an added bonus.